Bottling appliance.



J. V. IRBNIUS.

BOTTLING APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION ULEB 11011.22, 1911.

1,079,053. Patented N0v.18,1913

4 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

J. V. IRENIUS.

BOTTLING APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED N0\7.22,1911,

Pateted N0v.18,1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. V. IRBNIUS.

BOTTLING APPLIANGB.

APPLICATION NLED Nov. 2z, 19114 Patented N 0V. 18, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

J. V. IRENIUS. BOTTLlNG APPLIANGE.

APPLICATION FILED 11011.22, 1911.

Patented Nv.18, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

to bottle handling machinery,

SOSEPH V. IREHIUS, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNQR T0 IMPERIAL STGPPER COMEANY, A CORPORATON F Y'IAXNE.

BQTTLNG Alpi/L ANCE.

Leashes.

Specification of Letters Eetent.

Application filed November 22, 191i. Serial No. 661,65..

To all 'whom may concern:

Be it known that l, JOSEPH V. Innnius, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New J ersey, have invented cert-ain new and useful improvements in Bottling Appliances, of Which the following is a uli, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to shifting and feeding mechanisms, and more particularly and has or one of its objects the provision of a novel means for continuously delivering, for example, bottles to points in a suitable mechanism Where said bottles may he subjected to some determined operation, such as capping or sealing, and thereafter delivering the bottles or receptacles to convenient points at which they may, if desired, he collected.

To attain the ends above mentioned, my herein described invention contains elements and combinations of eieinents, all of which will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings which form a part hereof and in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views: Figure l is a front elevation of one forni of bottling apparatus with my novel feeding mechanism applied there-- to. Fig. 2 is a section of said apparatus taken on the line H-ll of Fig. l, the front of the apparatus being at the top of the sheet. Fig. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic detail section taken on the line lli-Hl of Fig. l, showing the relative positions of the quadrant gears and rack with i '.ipect to the plungers. Fig. 4 is a fragn'icutary detail section taken vertically thrrzigh the quadrant; the plane of the s' on being perpendicular' to the rack. Figi 5 is a detail showing 'the bottle centering mans in position upon a plunger. Fig. 6 i5 detail elevation of a right hand cam plt Ywhich constitutes one element of said nu" 5. Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of a similar it left hand cani plaie. Fig. S is a from` elevation of a knuckle bracket which constitutes another element of said hottie centering means. Figil is a detail showing in plan the bottle centeringrr means and shifting quadrant.

The feeding mechanism has been exemplified in connection with a capping machine. The construction employed in this machine may of course ce varied within wide limits,

'out the feeding mechanism particularly well adapie to multiple head machines of the type in question, or or an analogous description. in brief, tliereftu'c.y the machine illustrated in Fig. i comprises side frames or standards l, suitably connect together to forni a fri-une. This frame curi a l-,ihie E2, which prei" raoly constitutes the support for the feeding mechanism hereina'rier referred to. T he capping heads 3, are mounted upon a cross-head 4, which latter further supports the hopper-s from which the stoppers Or caps are delivered to the mouths oi the respccii c heads preparatory to capping the hotties delivered thereunder. rllicse heads are prefernhly arranged in alinenient, as shown, and correspondixigly alincd therebeneath are the receptacle supports or plungers 6, which in this forni of the capping machine drive the hotties up into the heads for caiping 'the hotties. The construction e reciprocshle parts will not he further referred to, except lo state that they may he provided with some forni of coni-- pensating mechanism to accommodate bottles of different lengths. The plungers are reciprocated iff-y means of cams 7, four of which are provided, the said cams being mounted upon a cam shaft 8. Said cams are preferably arranged in sets of two; bcing alternated so that one set of cams is in plunger raising position, while the earns of the other set are so disposed that theplungersactuaed thereby are in their lowermost position. nother words, counting from the left, the first and third earns, as viewed in iiig. l, have their longest radii upwardiy directed and cams and 4, counting 'from the left, have their corresponding;` radii downwardly directed,`the cams thus in cliiect being staggered which tends to render more regular the action of the mechanism and to relieve it from excessive strains.

The cani shaft is driven h v means of suitable gearing from a shaft 9 which carries the usual driving pulleyr l0. Each cani 7 is disposed heween a pair of bifurcated arms 1i or" a depending guire bracket 12 which is secured to the bottoni of the corresponding plunger; the shaft 8 being received between the lines of these bifurcated arms. It is obvio S, since alternate cams .1re angularly spacedl part 1800, that one set ci' aented Nov. 13, irfi.

plungers will always be in position to receive a paii` of bottles when the plungers of the other set are disposed in bottle capping position, and vice versa. The left hand extremity of the shaft 8, as viewed in Fig. 1, is reduced and carries a bevel or miter gear 13 which is in engagement. with a correspending gear 14 mounted upon the lower extremity of a side shaft 15.

As best shown in F ig. 2, the upper eX- tremity of the shaft 15 carries a bevel gear 16 which is in mesh. with two similar gears respectively designated 17 and 18. It may here be noted that the shaft 15 is journaled in a lower bracket 19 and an upper bracket 20, which latter also provides a journal for the shaft 21 which carries the gear 17 above. referred to. Shaft 21 also carries a spur gear 22 which is in mesh with a corresponding gear 23 located immediately thereabove, the latter gear being mounted upon the extremity of a horizontal shaft 24. Shaft 24 carries the driving roll 25 of a pair of belts 26; said belts being disposed one upon either side of the center line of the machine and extending around the said driving roll 25 and a roll 27. The latteris mounted upon a shaft 28, journaled in brackets 29, which are secured upon the front edge of the table 2. The bevel gear 18 is mounted upon the rear extremity of a spindle 30 which is journaled in the bracket 20; the said spindle carrying a crank disk 31 upon its forward extremity. This crank disk is provided with a stud 32 which is j ournaled in the extremity of a link 33, and the throw of this link reciprocates a rack 34 which is secured upon a rack bar 35, the latter being slidably mounted in brackets 36 which depend from the under side of the table. The link 33 is preferably connected to the rack bar 35 through the instrumentality of a block 37 which is made adjustable with respect to the said bar; a stud or shoulder bolt 38, carried by the said block, being journaled in the other extremity of the bar 33.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that rack 34 isin mesh-with a pair of spur gears 39, mounted upon studs 40 in brackets 41 which are secured to the under side of the table 2; and these cars 40 are respectively in mesh with pinions 42, the

latter being xedly secured to the respective lower extremities of a pair of quadrant spindles l. These spindlesl are journaled in bosses 44 provided in the table 2, and each of said spindles carries a quadrant 45 which may be secured thereto by means of a set screw 46, for eonvenienceinadjustment. The upper extremities of the respective quadrant spindles may be journaled in brackets 47, the latter' being secured in any suitable manner to the upper side of the table. It is evident that when through the rotation of the disk 31 the rack bar 35 is made readily removable as shown, and to' this end it is merely sufficient to slacken and remove nuts 50 carried by the studs 49 when A the. said shoes may be lifted out of engagement with their respective quadrants.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that a forked guide-way is provided upon the table. The V-shaped block or stem 51 is preferably disposed upon the median line of the table. This stem is held fixedly in position by means of a stud 52 which projects upwardly between the two belts 26. The under surface of stem 51 overhangs the belts; preferably just suliicient clearance being provided therebetween to allow free passage of the belts thereunder. The apex of this stem is directed outwardly from the plungers, and the rear ends thereof have pivotally connected thereto, as at 53, yielding guide members or gates 54, the latter being normally urged laterally through 'the instrumentality of springs 55, and the rear extremity of these yieldingly mounted members normally engaging the respective arms 56 of a U-shaped `guide block, broadly designated 57. The yicldingly mounted guides 54, and the legs 56 of the block 57, are preferably arcuately formed to a common radius extending from the axis ofthe corresponding quadrant. Correspondingly disposed to the inner yielding guides 54 are outer yieldingly mounted guides 58, of substantially similar contour, which also are pivotally mounted upon pins 59, springs 6() serving to normally hold these members in their innermost position, their rear extremities being, when so disposed, in engagement with the lateral guide blocks 6l. These may, in some instances, also b'e yieldingly mounted, the axis of rotation in each case beingr a bolt 62, or the like, which I preferably extends through a flange upon eael'i of the said blocks, said flange beingr also slotted as bolt 64. 'hcn a bolt 64 is slackencd, the corresponding guide block (51 is free to be swung outwardly a short distance against the actior of a. spring 65, which tends to hold it in its innermost position: the slot (llimiting the movement ot' the said block in either direction. The guide elements 58 and 61 are also preferably arcuate, at least in part, in conformity with the elements 54 and 57 previously described. l may aise at 63 for the reception of a provide guide rails 66 which together with the stem 51 form the Y-shaped passage above referred to. It is desirable thatI at least a portion of these rails be provided, namely the parts 66 thereof which are adjacent the front edge of the table and which extend in parallelism to each other, since these parts perform a function which will be hereinafter more fully discussed. Owing to the tendency of the belts 26, which move in the direction of the arrows indicated thereupon, to hold the bottles against the stem 51, the diverging portions of the rail G6 are not absolutely necessary; but it is preferable to provide them nevertheless, since they prevent inadvertent displacement of the bottles when being transferred by the belts toward the quadrant feeds, as for example, by being knocked over by an operator of the machine. Lshaped brackets 67 and 68 serve to support the guide rails 6G above the respective belts, these brackets being secured to the upper surface of the table 2 upon either side thereof: the belts 26 being unimpeded thereby. The fiat, table-like upper surfaces of the plunger-s (3 each carry a bracket (39 secured adjacent one edge thereof; two of these brackets being shown in elevated position in Fig. 1. Figs. 5, G, 7 and 9, illustrate these brackets in detail together with the oscillatable articleshifting cam-plates 70 pivotally mounted thereon. The function of these plates is a dual one in that they serve not only as supports for the bottle or articleengaging members, but also as movable guides for the bottles or articles. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the said plates are ertured or recessed as at 71 for the reception of the article-engaging fingers 72, and the combined action of these members and their supporting plates is believed to be distinctively novel.

The brackets 47 are each preferably disposed in a plane intermediate a pair of plungers (i, and have laterally extendingY therefrom, on either side thereof, arms 73, each of which is provided with a friction roller 74. These rollers a re adapted for engagement with the respective plates, when these plates are being elevated by the plungersI upon which they are mounted; each plate having a ca m surface (see Figs. (i and 7) upon which the correspond` ing roller rides; upward movtment of a plunger thereby causing rotary n'iovement of the corresiioiuling plate from the position which it occupies with respect to its sup portingbracket, shown in Fig. (3, to one corresponding to that shown in Fig. 7. rl`hc plates` shown in Figs. 6 and 7 constitute a pair. one right hand and one left; and they are alternately swung toward the front of l the. Amachine by the upward movement ofi the respective plnngers; andare driven back into their rearmostpositions, also alternately, by the action of the oscillating quadrant -l which is substantially intermediate said pair of plates.

The fingers 7:2 are pivotally connected to the respective plates and are each provided with a small crank 7o, the extremity of which is adapted for engagement with a detent 77 carried by the corresi'ionding bracket (39. When, therefore, a plate 70 is rocked forwardly by the upward movement of its plunger, the finger 72 swung out from its aperture in said plate by the engagement of the crank 76 with its detent 77, preferably just at' the end of such forward throw.

The plate 70 and its finger are held against accidental displacement, the first with respect to its supporting bracket 69, and the second with respect to said plate, by moderate friction. Hence, after the finger has been driven outwardly with r speci. to the plate it will remain in such po.. tion until it is driven back by a succeeding bottle in the manner hereinafter described; while the plate will remain in its forward position until driven rearwardly by the iinpingement of a lug 7H thcrcagainst, one of said lugs ex tending laterallyr from each side of each quadrant shoe 48.

Having new described the construction of most of the essential parts of my vnovel feeding mechanism. the remaining parts of the machine may be described while discussing the operation of said machine as a whole.

The belt sections 2G may properly be regarded as constituting a two part belt, since the principal reason for dividing the same into sections is merely to permit the stem or switching piece 51 to be secured directly to the center of the table. Assuming noW that these belt-sections are being driven in the direction indicated by the arrows thereupon; that the plungers are being rcciprocated in the manner above described and that the quadrants are being oseillated by the gears, rack, link and disk in an obvious manner. Bottles 7) may now be delivered through the parallel guides4 SO, being advanced therebetween from, let us say. the tilting apparatus in any suitable manner. as by means of a belt S1 passing over an idler Si?. The. bottles are shoved by belt 2:31 on to a plate 83, in a well known manner and are driven thereover by succeedingy bottles, on to the two-part belt 26. lt will be observed that the guide parts Wi are spaced apart a distance somewhat ;.l' .alcr than the diameter of the bottles 79, so that the slight resistance to their progress oii'ered by the stein .31 which is directly in their path sutices to cause them to sta-ger with respect to each' other. To this end it rs desirable that the belt 81 be driven at, at least, as grtat a speed as the belts 26, and preferably the belt 8l is driven at a somewhat higher rate so that even before the bottles encounter the stem, they begin to stagger themselves in the passage between guides Gti', in the manner shown in Fig. Q. By reason of this staggering action, the bottles will automat'cally apportion themselves, usually alternately', toward the respective sides of the machine. The belts Lt tend to hold them against the sides of the stem, along which they slide,r until they have en tered the respective passageways between guides 5l and 58. They are then carried through said passage-ways until, usually, they successively encounter the respective curved faces 8l of the quadrant-shoes 4Q. These shoes block said passageavriys and only permit the bottles to emerge therefrom at determined intervals. If the quadrants, which preferably swing in unison, are disposed to the right, as shown in Fig. 2, then a single bottle is free to emerge from each 0f said passage-\va vs and such bottles will immediately thereafter be swung or shifted to the left, by the rotary action of the quadrants. Usually the belts serve to hold the bottles tirmly against the quadrant shoes until they have been swung past the mouths of the passage-ways; but if by any chance, a bottle should not have properly entered the pocket provided upon the side of a quadrant shoe, so that such bottle would be pinched between guide 58 and said shoe, the guide 58 will yield, permitting the bottle to Snap one way or the other. Similarly, but much more rarely, if a. bottle has so displaced a guide 58 and has lodged against. the edge of a nido (3l, such guide will in turn yield, and the bottle will be advanced toward the bottling heads without` breakage, The belt-sections tend to advance those bottles traversing the inner arcuate paths Vt'or a greater distance along said paths than they do those bottles moving over the outer paths and it is probablv for this reason that it` has been found piactically unnecessary to make the guide parts .viti yieldablc.

The bottles shifted by the quadrants are placed thereby directly upon the plunefers, a plunger always being in its downmost lio-- sition when th corresponding quadrant swung theretoward. lt is evident therefore. that the quadrants and plungers shoiild move in timed relationship. ll'hcn a bottle is being pushed onto 'a plunger` in the manner described` the lngr T8 ot the quadrant shoe. which l'ornls a part of the wall of' the pocket S5 which holds -said bottle, engages the corresl'minling plate T0 and drives it rearwardly. The bottle engaging finger 72 of this plate had previously been swung ontr wardlv from said plate when the plate, was rocked forwardly, and as the plate now travels toward the rear of the machine, this finger advances theA bottle ahead of that be ing delivered by the quadrant; shoving it off from the plunger onto the table, as shown at the right in Fivj. 2.

The bottles 'leaving the plungers are driven by succeeding bottles over the surface of the. table, between guides Sti-ST; the latter preferably being fixed and the former being pivotally mounted upon the table as at 88, being adjustable thereover to accommodate bottles of diterent sizes. 1t may here be noted that the bottles shown are quart bottles. The bottles being positioned on the plungers by the quadrants are centered with respect to the bottling heads by means of centering devices, one of which is carried by each of said plungers. These de vices are simple in construction but enibody certain novel features, and are especially well. adapted to co-act with the feeding mechanism. Each centeringr device consists of a bracket 89, the base D() ol' which doweled upon the corresponding plunger, each base preferably being provided with at least two sets of dowel holes 91, 92; in order to permit of adjustment ot' said bracket toward and from the axis ol the plunger, accommodating di tl'erent sizes of bottles.

Brackets 89 are apertured as at Uil in Figs. 8 and 9, vfor the reception of knuckles 94, the bent or angular' portions of which protrude through said apertures', said `{nurkles being hinged in pairs upon pins 95 in said brackets. The knuckles are spring pressed; lent' springs 96 being secured to thc brackets, as at 9T and bearing against the ends of the knuckles; said ends being held thereby normally in eng-agement with the sides of thc brat-lofts.

ll'hen a bottle is drii'en against an inclined tace of a knuckle by the action oflI a quadrant, said knuckle yields and the bottle slides past the. angle thereof into the V- shaped pocket formed by the inner` inclined sides of a pair ot knuckles, thus disposing said bottle in substantial alinenient with the axis ot' the capping head. 'Thereafter the quadrant moves away and the plunger beariirt|` said bottle rises, ap}' lying the cap to the bottle in a well known manner. As said plunger rises, the plate 70,' carried thereby encounters the roller 74; and the plate is rocked forwardly in the manner above described. The linger 72 of said plate iS, at, the comuienceincnt of this move ment, outwardly extended with respect to the plate; but as the plate swings toward the front of the machine, this linger is pushed back out of the way by the bottle which is being capped, and passes to the right oll said bottle, as viewed in Fig. 9. At the. cnd of the stroke ot' the plate 70, this linger is again driven out by its crank engaging the detent 77, the tip of the finger lUU preferably just clearing the bottle. The next movement of the quadrant, clockwise, as viewed in said Fig. 9, drives plate 70, its finger and the bottle to the left thereof, off from the plunger, as previously described.

The quadrant shoes are made readily removable from the quadrants to accommodate bottles of different sizes; shoes being provided of substantially the shape shown, but of different sizes, for different types of bottles.

While I have described my feeding mechanism in connection with a capping machine, it is to be understood that the term bottling machine hereinafter used in the appended claims is to be regarded as of suicient breadth t'o include not only capping or .sealing machines, but also bottle filling machinery and, in general, bottle handling apparatus of any description.

The mechanism exemplified has been shown as set for bottles of relativelylarge size. Smaller sizes of bottles may be handled by changing the qluadrant shoes; shifting the brackets 89 in tie manner described; and adjusting the pivoted guides 86.

The brackets 69 and plate 7() are readily removable and may be substituted by similar brackets and plates adapted for t-he smaller bottles; while the guides 66, 54, 58, etc., may have shoessuperposed thereupon toreduce the widths of the passage-ways therebetween. A fragment of such a shoe is shown at 98 overlying one of the guides 66 and secured thereto by dowels 99.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. In bottling appliances, an apparatus having a plurality of means for performing similar operations upon a plurality of bottles substantialiy simultaneously, feeding mechanism for shifting bottles, delivered from a common source, into diverse paths, said paths leading toward the respective devices aforesaid, said mechanism comprising a stationary bottle apportioning stem at the juncture of two of said paths and coacting means for advancing a series of bottles t0- ward said apportioning stem, in combination with means for successively centering bottles, traversing the respective diverse paths. with respect to the devices correspending to said paths.

2. The combination of a multiple-head bottling appliance with feeding mechanism for shifting bottles toward the respective heads of said appliance. said mechanism comprising an oscillatable bottle switching device, movable in one plane, and a second oscillatable bottle shifting device movable in a secondplane, the first of said devices adapted to engage one bottle and the second of said devices adapted to engage another bottle approximately contiguous to that first mentioned.

tion of a rotatable member ada ted to shift articles being fed through sai mechanism with means for moving said member, and a plurality of substantially juxtaposed guides, one cf which is laterali movable to prevent injury to said articles 5y the movement of said member. another of said guides constituting a stop to limit movement of said first mentioned guide toward said--member, said second guide also being'laterally movable under excessive pressure.' A

The combination of a multiple head bottling appliance with feeding mechanism for shifting bottles toward the respective heads of said appliance, said mechanism comprising separate elements each adapted to positively engage successive bottles substantially simultaneously, one of said elements being pivotally mounted, the axis of rotation of one of said elements being substantially at ri ht angles to the respective axes of the heads of said bottling appliance.

6. In bottling ap liances, an apparatus having a plurahty o means for performing similar operations upon a plurality of bottles substantially simultaneously, each of said means comprisin a plunger, feedin mechanism for shifting bottles toward sai plungers, yielding centering means carried by plungers, said centering means receiving bottles from said feeding mechanism.

7. In a feeding mechanism, an oscillatable member. a second oscillatable member movable by said first member, said members being movable in differentl planes, said second member carrying an element pivotally attached thereto, and means for oscillating said pivoted element in accordance with the movements of said second member, said pivoted Yelement being adapted to engage articles to be fed to said mechanism.

8. In a feeding mechanism, a rotatable member, a finger pivotally connected to said member, said finger being movable substantially into alinement with said member, means for rotating said finger out of alinement with said member, said finger when so positioned being adapted for engagement with articles lto be fed by said mechanism, and means for actuating said member.

f). In a feeding mechanism, a rotatable member, a finger pivotally connected to said member, said finger being movable substan tially into alinement with said member,

Aieans for rotating said finger out of alinen'ient with `said member, said finger when so positioned being adapted for engagement with articles to be fed by said mechanism.

10. In a feeding; mechanism, a support, a movable Inember having a recess therein, said member mounted on saidrsupi'iort', a finger connected lto said member and movable into and out of said recess. and means for moving said finger ont of said recess when the member is moved in one direction with respect to said support, said finger adapted for engagement with articles to be fed by said mechanism.

11. The combination of a bottling appliance having a plunger, with feeding mechanism for moving bottles into alinement with said plunger, said mechanism comprising an element pivotally mounted upon said plunger and movable therewith, means carried by said element for engaging bottles, and means adapted for engagement with said element for eHecting movement thereof iu accordance with a movement of said plunger.

12. The combination of a bottling appliance having a plunger, with feeding mechanism for moving bottles into alinementI with said plunger, said mechanism comprising an element mounted upon said plunger and also laterally movable with respect` thereto` means carried by said element for engaging bottles, and means adapted for engagement with said element for effecting lateral movement thereof in accordance with a movement of said plunger.

13. The combination of a bottling appliance having a plurality of heads. with feeding mechanism for shifting bottles toward the respective heads of said appliance. said mechanism comprising guide members spaced apart a greater distance than the diameter of the bottles to be fed by said mechanism, a belt for advancing said bottles between said guides, and a switching device disposed in the path of said bottles, said device co-acting with said belt and guides to stagger the bottles ad 'aneing toward said device, whereby said bottles may be apportioned between at least two or said heads.

14. Feeding mechanism for shifting bot.- tles delivered from a connnon source, into diverse paths, said mechanism comrn'ising guides spaced apart a distance substantiall)v equal to the diameter of said bottles. a second set of guides spaced apart a distance materially greater than the diameter ot' said bottles, the median lines between said sets of guides beingr substantially coincident, a

belt for receiving bottles delivered from said first set of `guides, the carrying surface of said belt being beneath said second set of guides, a shifting stem having sides adapted for engagement with said bottles, said sides being angularly disposed with respect to each other, said stern, belt and guides coacting to stagger bottles passing between said second set of guides and to shift said staggered bottles alternately toward opposite sides of said stem.

15. ln bottling appliances, a feeding means for bottles, comprising a channel of greater width than the diameter of the bottles. means for forcing the bottles through said channel, a stationary stem arranged at the end of said channel and two branching channels leading from said first mentioned channel along the respective sides of said stem whereb-y the bottles which are compelled to pass through said first mentioned channel in staggered relation to each other are successively directed rst into one of said branch channels and then into the other by said stationary stem.

16. The combination of a bottling appliance havingr a plurality of heads, with feeding mechanism for shifting bottles toward the respective heads of Said appliance, said mechanism comprising guide members spaced apart a greater distance than the diameter of the bottles to be fed by said mechanism and means for pressing the bottles against each other while they are passing between said guides to thereby impart a staggered relation between the bottles, and a switching device disposed in the path of the bottles whereby said bottles are apportioned between at least two of said heads.

17. The combination of a bottling appliance having a plurality of heads. with feeding mechanism for shifting bottles toward the respective heads of said appliance, said mechanism comprising guide members spaced apart a greater distance than the d1- ameter of the bottles to be fed by said meehanism and means for pressing the bottles against:I each other While they are passing between said guides to thereby impart a staggered relation between the bottles, and a stationary guide disposed in the path of said bottles whereby said bottles are apportioned between at least two of`said heads.

In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH V. IRENIUS.

lVitnesses:

lVALno M. CHAPIN, JAMES D. ANTONIO. 

